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Zelenskyy brings home five Azov battalion commanders from Turkey

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:23:28 GMT

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy returned to Ukraine on Saturday bringing home with him five former Azov battalion commanders who had fought in the battle over Mariupol. The Kremlin accused Turkey of violating the prisoner-exchange agreement that was signed last year.“We are returning home from Türkiye and bringing our heroes home,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media. “Ukrainian soldiers Denys Prokopenko, Svyatoslav Palamar, Serhiy Volynsky, Oleh Khomenko and Denys Shleha. They will finally be with their relatives.”  The Ukrainian president hugged the servicemen at the Istanbul airport and flew them home with him. Upon news of the release, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia had not been informed and that Turkey had promised to keep the former prisoners on its home soil. The move “goes against the terms of existing agreements,”Peskov said. “The conditions of return were violated by both the Turkish and Kyiv sides.”

Boston City Council dysfunction turning off candidates, incumbent says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:23:28 GMT

The field is set for the at-large Boston City Council race, with longtime Councilor Michael Flaherty’s decision to drop out eliminating the need for a primary election.Eight candidates, including three incumbents and five challengers, are vying for four at-large seats, and will face off in the Nov. 7 general election.A preliminary election, set for Sept. 12, would have determined the top eight at-large candidates for the November ballot, and is therefore no longer needed for that particular City Council race, according to the Boston Election Department.Resignation opens up a citywide raceFlaherty withdrew his name from consideration Wednesday, after serving for 20 non-consecutive years on the Council, a decision that surprised several of his would-be challengers who suddenly found themselves vying for an open seat.“I’m still in shock over it. That just totally threw me for a loop yesterday,” Bridget Nee-Walsh, an at-large candidate and self-described supporter of Flaherty, told the ...

Locals await fate in MLB Draft

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:23:28 GMT

When the Major League Baseball Draft begins Sunday night, a pair of New Englanders are sure to hear their names called.Philips Andover’s Thomas White is poised to be a first-round selection as the left-hander has dazzled scouts with a fastball that gets into the upper 90s. While White holds a commitment to Vanderbilt, those around the league expect White to sign should the money be somewhere around his asking price.White is represented by The Boras Corporation and is currently projected as the No. 25 overall pick to the San Diego Padres by MLB.com, although many evaluators think he may go higher. If White is not selected in the first round, it is likely due to the fact that he has told organizations he is determined to play for the Commodores.Worcester Academy’s own and current Maryland junior Matt Shaw is also expected to be selected in the first round. Shaw is seen as one of the more polished bats in the draft due to his ability to hit for power out of a middle infield...

Luis Suárez, only Spanish man to win Ballon d’Or, has died

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:23:28 GMT

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Luis Suárez Miramontes, the so-called “Golden Galician” who is the only Spanish man to win soccer’s most prestigious individual award, the Ballon d’Or, has died, according to former club Inter Milan. He was 88.Inter did not indicate the cause of Suárez’s death when announcing his passing on Sunday.Although born in the northwest Spanish region of Galicia, the midfielder won the bulk of his trophies in Italy with Inter, including the European Cup in 1964 and 1965 and three Italian league titles. Suárez moved to Inter from Barcelona after winning two Spanish league titles.“Sadly his greatest and most successful period came when he was no longer a Barca player,” Barcelona’s website noted.Suárez won the Ballon d’Or in 1960 and was runner-up in 1961 and 1964. He played on Spain’s team that won the 1964 European Championship, its first major title.After retiring in 1973, Suárez had three spells coaching Int...

Ask Amy: He said hurtful things about my wedding, and now I’m expected to fix our rift

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:23:28 GMT

Dear Amy: My wife and I were fortunate enough to get married in Tuscany two years ago. We had a small guest list of immediate family and our closest friends. Neither of us had been married before.When we hand-delivered our “save the dates,” we said we understood that a trip to Italy was a big request, even with four days of food and lodging provided, and that we understood if people couldn’t make the trip.With two COVID delays, circumstances prevented two of my friends and their spouses from being able to attend.A third friend, “Donny,” informed me in the most hurtful way that he and his wife, “Linda,” would not be making the trip.Donny broke this news to me by stating that my wedding was a major inconvenience to them with all of the delays, and that they had other priorities in life I was preventing them from accomplishing (one of the specific priorities mentioned was an all-inclusive drinking trip with another couple).Linda reached out once, and I informed her exactly why I was hu...

This Week, America Failed to Get Josh Hawley to Feel Shame

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:23:28 GMT

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., delivers remarks at the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s Road to Majority Policy Conference at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C., on June 23, 2023.Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesThis July 4, Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley got on Twitter and quoted founding father Patrick Henry. According to Hawley, Henry told the world that “[i]t cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” This immediately generated vast Twitter unhappiness because Henry, while a devout Anglican, never said this.You might hope Hawley would have absorbed this reality and graciously acknowledged his error. After all, he’s a human being and so presumably can feel shame. He was a history major at Stanford and then got a law degree at Yale. He just wrote a book called “Manhood,” which tells us that to be a man is “to live the truth, to s...

Francia prohíbe la venta, posesión y transporte de fuegos artificiales durante el fin de semana del Día de la Bastilla

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:23:28 GMT

(CNN) — Francia prohibió la venta, posesión y transporte de fuegos artificiales durante el fin de semana del Día de la Bastilla por temor a nuevos disturbios.Se ha filmado a los manifestantes lanzando fuegos artificiales durante la ola de disturbios violentos que se apoderó del país luego de que un agente de policía matara a tiros a un adolescente de 17 años a fines de junio.“Para prevenir el riesgo de graves desórdenes públicos durante las festividades del 14 de julio, la venta, el porte, el transporte y el uso de artículos pirotécnicos y fuegos artificiales están prohibidos en toda Francia hasta el 15 de julio inclusive”, según el decreto publicado en el diario oficial del gobierno francés este domingo.El Día de la Bastilla, que es el día nacional de Francia, se celebra anualmente el 14 de julio con espectaculares espectáculos de fuegos artificiales organizados en todo el país.¿Por qué celebra Francia su Día Nacional el 14 de julio? ¿Qué fue la Toma de la Bastilla?El decreto...

La enorme mancha de algas que se dirige a Florida se redujo en un 75%

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:23:28 GMT

(CNN) — Vuelven las vacaciones en Florida, pero sin algas apestosas.La masa récord de algas apestosas que empezó a aparecer en las emblemáticas playas de Florida esta primavera, conocida como el Gran Cinturón de Algas Sargazo del Atlántico, se redujo en el Golfo de México en un 75% el mes pasado, según científicos del Laboratorio de Oceanografía Óptica de la Universidad del Sur de Florida.Estas algas, que huelen a huevos podridos y emiten gases tóxicos cuando llegan a la costa, son una molestia para los bañistas de Florida en primavera, que es también el inicio de la temporada turística del Estado del Sol. En abril, las algas batieron un récord: los científicos identificaron 3 millones de toneladas de sargazo en el mar Caribe.Y aunque los científicos esperaban que la masa se redujera en junio, la drástica disminución del mes pasado en el Golfo de México fue “más allá de lo esperado”, según un boletín del Laboratorio de Oceanografía Óptica.“Se encontró muy poc...

‘We shouldn’t be swimming in poopy water’: Report highlights unsafe US beach pollution levels

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:23:28 GMT

With beach season in full swing, researchers unveiled a report that showed roughly 55% of U.S. beaches had at least one day of potentially unsafe contamination levels last year.“The places we love to go and swim and play in the water are not always as clean and as safe as we’d like them to be,” said John Rumpler, clean water program director for Environment America Research and Policy Center.Rumpler’s team pored over pages of tests conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency, in which each beach was given a Beach Action Value (BAV) — a score the EPA uses to put out safety advisories or closings based on bacteria levels in the water.On unsafe days, the EPA estimated that the high pollution levels could cause illness at a rate of 32 people out of every 1,000 swimmers. Environment America scientists discovered that at the 3,192 beaches the EPA tested last year, more than 1,750 had at least one day on which fecal contamination had high scores.“Whether itR...

Hot and Hazy Week Ahead

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:23:28 GMT

Following another day of record heat in both Miami and Marathon on Saturday, there is no sign of the heat letting up any time soon. While only Marathon is forecast to break its record for the date this Sunday, it will be another very hot day across South Florida.A Heat Advisory is in effect for Miami-Dade and Broward Counties this Sunday from 11AM through 7PM for peak feels-like temps of up to 105-109F.The day will begin with a mix of sun and clouds with warming temperatures, reaching the low to mid 90s by the early afternoon. Then during the mid to late afternoon hours is when we’ll have our best chance for seeing scattered showers and thunderstorms across the area. Rain chances will be lower at a 40% chance as some Saharan dust continues to move in from the south, which helps to prevent rain and storm development.This dust will be most in place on Monday with some drier air lingering into Tuesday, meaning rain chances will be down to a 20-30% chance. This dust will help keep...